Alleged burglar eyed the jewels, grabbed pizza too

By Bob Gardinier

Updated 1:09 pm, Monday, September 22, 2014

TROY – A city man was indicted on accusations he broke into Euclid Avenue homes in March and helped himself to a slice of pizza and tried to take jewelry, a camera, and laptop computer before eventually being cornered inside a closet by rookie police dog.

Shannon Lee Bruce, 41, of Sixth Ave., was indicted Friday on two counts each of fourth-degree criminal mischief and second-degree burglary, one count of petit larceny (for the slice), three counts of attempted petit larceny and a count of resisting arrest, according to the indictment.

Bruce, who has three similar convictions, is awaiting arraignment.

Police said Bruce used a hammer to break into two different homes on Euclid Avenue on the morning of March 21. He allegedly only got pizza at the first home and was inside gathering property to steal when he realized he had been discovered. There was a 10-year-old boy home alone who called 911, police said at the time. The boy was not injured.

But when officers arrived, the burglar was gone. A search of the neighborhood was begun and Officer Craig Faby put Obie to work. The dog tracked Bruce to the second home a couple of blocks father down the street where police said they spotted a broken window. Bruce was allegedly found in a closet, trying to hide under a pile of clothing.

Bruce, who had also been wanted on a parole warrant, allegedly resisted arrest.

According to state Department of Corrections records, Bruce was convicted of attempted burglary in Rensselaer County in 2009, serving five years and getting paroled a month before his current arrest. He served six years in state prison on the same charge in 2000 from Jefferson County and did two years for attempted burglary in Rensselaer County in 1996.

In 1994, Bruce faced misdemeanor trespass charges for being involved with a group of eight young men who broke into the Griswold family crypt in Oakwood Cemetery and took gold teeth, gold fillings, and jewelry from the grave of Helene Griswold.

Using a crowbar and sledgehammer, the youths broke into three other mausoleums in the early morning of July 21 and July 24, 1994, police said at the time.

They also removed plaques from grave sites, including the bronze bust and nameplate of Civil War Maj. General Joseph Carr. The ill-gotten goods were sold for a little over $200 to allegedly purchase drugs, police said.

Skulls were tossed around and one was even carried on a pole, the lead investigator told the Times Union at the time.